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 Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924104035880 
 
CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
THE COMFORTABLE CHAMBERS, 
 
 OPENED AND VISITED, 
 
 UPON 
 
 THE D E P A R T U R E Of 
 
 fHAt AGED AND FAlTHfUL 
 
 SERVANT OF GOD, 
 
 Mr. Peter T^jatcher^ 
 
 The Never to be foYgotten Paftor of 
 
 M I L -f K 
 
 "Who EhS<Je Ut FIfgirt fhkhef> 
 cA DtcfiMBiR 17. 1727. 
 
 By COTTON MATHER, &.a & F..R.S* 
 
 [The laft Sermon the Author ever deliver ed.^ 
 
 Cant. L 4. 
 He has hrought me into His CHAMBERS. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 Re-prmted by THOMAS FLEET, jun. Cornhat 
 
 MDCCXCVI. 
 
==2S 
 
 A Number of the Inhabit ants of the 
 Town of Milton, ivtjhed to fee the 
 funeral Dfcourjes on their two former 
 'Pajlors reprinted ; after careful inquiry, 
 that ofthefirft could be only obtained, 
 'which is here inferted, the pointing, f pelt- 
 ing, ^c. arc the fame. 
 
( 3 ) 
 
 ■ II m i l —l ) ll l l »l « Illl IW»»IIW»»»»WIP»l»llll»WWPIWMIIMM»w«iMaa|MM||MWMIIi 
 
 The Chambers of GOD 
 
 Opened and Vifited, 
 On the Death of the Valuable 
 
 Mr. Peter Thatcher, 
 
 Boston, 24th d, X m. 1727. 
 
 Isaiah xxvi. 20. 
 ' Come, my People, Enter thou into thy Chambers. 
 
 X. HE Entrance of an Hoary Head, found in 
 the way of Righteoufnefs into thofe Chambers a few 
 5ays ago, is that which has winged my thoughts 
 for flying -thither after him. Every one perhaps is 
 not aware, that an invitation to dye readily, and 
 chearfully, is here g^iven to the people of GOD. 
 Perhaps, if it be fo imderftood, it may feem an in- 
 ■yiiation too full of horrOr, to be readily and chear- 
 fully complied v/ithal. But, I \v&.\z antiquity- ytxj 
 much on my fide, if I fo underftand the text I am 
 now to infill upon. The ancients, and very parti- 
 cularly Tertullian, take our Chambers here, to be the 
 Receptacles of the Dead. And the words of the 
 context jufl: going before, direflly lead us to fuch ;in 
 expofition. In thefe words, there is promifed, a 
 RefurreSlion of the Bead. The deceafed children 
 of GOD, are by our SAVIOUR here with an amaz- 
 ifig tend,ernefs, cap-led, his Dead Body. He who 
 is their head, riling from the dead affure^ them, 
 that a dew from Heaven fnall fall upon them alfo, 
 Uom the efficacy whereof; the earth pall caft out 
 
 the 
 
 WVu^ .-*.--.- -.--- -.*.^-'--«-;= — '■ir—^i^-"i 
 
4 The Chambers 0/ GOD, 
 
 the dead. Well ; But before and until this grand 
 revolution, what is to intervene ? One thing to in- 
 tervene, is ; A treijjen4oH§ day of indication on the 
 world. This indignation is to be interpreted, as 
 meaning the long reign of ^ttichrijl, and the vials 
 of the divine wrath to be at length poured out on 
 the antickrijtian empire. This is a very old, and. 
 and a very jufl: interpretation. But then, another 
 thing to intervene, is, A retirement of good men, 
 unto the chjuihcrs, in which they fliall be fheltered 
 from a ftiarp in this indignation. And where are the 
 chambers of the dead ? By death it is, that the 
 people of God enter into their chambers. In dy- 
 ing they Jhut their doors about them. When they 
 arc dead, they are hid until the indignation be over- 
 paft : And all the time, until there comes the time 
 0/ the dead, for them to have their full reward given 
 unto them, will be but as a little moment unto them. 
 The terms here ufcJ on this occafion, are fuch af^ive 
 ones, as to intimate how willing the people of ' God 
 fliould be, to comply vvith fuch a difpenfation. It 
 ilaould be willingly complied withal, as if they were 
 themfelves to do what mortality is to do upon them. 
 They are to enter the Chambers ; not be drag'd and 
 forc'd into them. They are to go as willingly as if 
 they were themfelves to ^ut the doors about them 
 with their own hands ; as if they were to hide them- 
 Jelves, by their own contrivance, and their own in- 
 fluftry. And my Doftrine fhall be this, 
 
 'XHE people of God, when they die, enter inte thofe 
 Chambers, the thoughts wher eof Jhould render their 
 death eafy to them. 
 
 Two things are now to be enquired. 
 Our firft enquiry fhall be, 
 
 WHAT are the Chambers which <ire entered hy the 
 filing people of Gfi4 ? 
 
 The 
 
~ opened and Vijiud, i, 
 
 . Thf, Anfwer is ; tlie receptacles of the dedi, aretljiP 
 chambers, w.hich the people of God muft go into, 
 and fliould be willing to enter them. 
 
 Now, the anatomy of man divides him into two 
 parts ; body and Jfirit. How body and Jpirit are 
 united unto each other in man ; and how 'tis 
 that they affeEl each other, this is a myjiery which no 
 man has ever yet throughly fearch'd into. The mat- 
 •te'r of fa£f is evident, is notorious ; that hody and 
 fpirit conftitute one perfon in man j but how lo very 
 different fnhftances come to carry on the actions ojf 
 a man together ; 'tis as yet beyond the fearch and 
 reach of oux philofophy. That fuch different fubfian- 
 ces have fuch a mutual impreffim upon each oiher ; 
 the beft philofophers afcrjbe it unto an unfcarcbabfe 
 operation of God. Such an union rt.ere is between 
 body a.nd fpirit in the nature of «w», that neither of 
 thefe alone is the m.tn. The promifes made in the 
 Covenant of God, unto man, require this union, to be 
 rellor'd, when once mortality has broken it- The 
 per/ah of the believpr js not blefed if both his body 
 and fpirit be not united in the bleflednefs. But this 
 union is dilTolved in our death. Our body and fpirit 
 upon the diflblution made of the unionhttw ten them, 
 when we dye, continue in a ftate oifeparation till the 
 refiirreclion of tloe dead. When wc dye, we .read, 
 Eccl. xii. 7. Then ft) all the dufi return Jd the earth 
 as it ivas, and the fpirit fl}aU return unto God who 
 gasie it. The body and fpirit are now lodged in 
 t wo veiy different receptacles. We have two forts of 
 iChambers, provided for us; xy,o -pls^ccs of reception. 
 
 First. The people of God, when they dye, have 
 their bodies lodged in the Qoambers of the grave. 
 Thefe are thofc which are called, Prov. vii. 27. ^he 
 Chambers of death. We read of, an boufe appointed 
 far all the living. The grave is that houfe^ and in it, 
 are chambers for all }be living. Our hH^s muft be 
 
 , Icdg'd 
 
5 f1t>e Chambers of GOD, 
 
 lodg'd in (\ihx.cnntou&^bambers. Our coffins art 
 -caHed, our beds, i Sam. iii, 31.— We know what 
 kind of chambers there are-rbr thefe beds, chambers 
 which are cellars -, chambers which are under ground ; 
 chambers which are the Iffwer parts of the earth. 
 Dark and cold chambers; (tho' not felt fo !) and 
 where the fun fhines nor. The pits of corruption 
 are the chambers. Thefe chambers are to be the Jle^p- 
 ing places, for our forfaken and confuming bodies, 
 until the voice of the laji trumpet Ihall awaken them ; 
 until the quickning voice of, arife ye dead, IhaU 
 from the mouth of an AJmighty Redeemer peiiietrate 
 into them. / 
 
 Secondly ; The people of God, when they dye, 
 have x.\\t\T fpirits lodged in the chambers of a para- 
 dife. Our Saviour told his difciples ; Joh. xiv. 2. 
 In my fathers houfe are many manfions ; I go to pre- 
 pare a place for you. The heavenly world is our 
 fathers houfe. In that heavenly world there are man- 
 ^K/ peculiarly affigned for the departed yyp/n/j of the 
 faithful. Yea, it looks as if there were diftindl man- 
 fions for the faithful, according to the fcveral dif|)en- 
 faiions which they have been under. There is a 
 place prepared for every order of the faints, accord- 
 ing to the diftribution that God fliall pleafe to make 
 of them. Thefe manftons are called, the paradife of 
 God. And the manfions are to the third Heaven, or 
 that vioji holy place, whither our High-Priejl is afcend-. 
 ed, as courts of the temple were to the Holy of Holies. 
 The commendation given to the courts of the Lord in 
 our book of Pfalms, are to be ultimately expounded 
 of thefe blefled manfions. The Fathers call'd them. 
 Atria Domini. Here are the chambers, to which the 
 fpirits that have holy difpofilions purifying and quali- 
 fying of them, are taken up. When we read, Pfal. 
 cxlix. 5. Let the faints be joyful in glory ; let then* 
 fng aloud upon their beds : Thofe beds, were in the 
 primitive times, taken to be, the manfions, in which 
 
 the 
 
opened and VifiteL , ^ 
 
 • 
 the departed yjJmVj of the faints are feafted of God ? 
 The manfions of the ■paradife where Lazarus lies dowrt, 
 at the fame feaft with Abraham. From the age of 
 jEzra, the term oi Paradife became ufual in the church 
 of Ifrael, to fignify, the felicity of departed fpirits.' 
 The form of comprecation and benedidlion for a dy- 
 ing Ifraelite, was. May his foul be in the, garden of 
 Eden ! And the Jews have a faying. That none have 
 a right for to enter paradife, but the juji ; the fouls of 
 ivhonf are carried thither by Angels. In the deleiaable" 
 chambers of this paradife . the fpirits which live unto 
 God, have fuch vifibns of God,- and their Saviour, as 
 far tranfcend all that was attainable here below. In 
 thefe chambers indeed, they keep wifhing for the 
 arrival of the time, when GOD Jhall call, and they 
 ihall anfwer him, and God fhall have a defire to fee, 
 Rebuilt that work of his hands, which now lies demol- 
 ifhed in the duft. They cry, How long, O Lord, 
 holy and true! But yet without ariy fmfu I impa- 
 tience ; xhty wait all the days of their appointed time, 
 until the defired change do come. In the meantime, 
 we may fay, Thefe are the holy chambers, where the 
 priefts that approach unto the Lord, fhall eat the mojl^ 
 holy things^ 
 
 Ou& fecond enquiry fhall be, 
 
 WHAT there is in the Chambers, whereto the people ' 
 ef God retire when they die, to render their death eafy 
 io them. 
 
 f> The anfwer will be Various and glorious. 
 
 First, Our bodies lodg'd in the chambers of tht 
 grave, have thofe things done for them, wherein they 
 receive the kindnefs of God. A kindnefs which de- 
 ferves to be yet a little more particularly fpol^n to. 
 It is comprized in that pafiage; Pfal. i6. sN-iV// 
 ^p fhall reft in hope, J^wft, owr bodies have ar reft.- 
 
 .. ' But 
 
f n-e CBcmhrs of OOtf, 
 
 BoC then they have an hope alfo to fweeten it. Firif, 
 there is a reft granted unto cxir bodies, when they come 
 xofteep in the chambers of the grave. Of the righ- 
 teous, that have their bodfes mid in the gfaWf Wd 
 read, Ifai. Ivii. i, 2. The righteous is taken away r^ 
 they fljall reft in their beds. Our bodies in this life 
 ate obnoxious to many mifcries, which are the fruit* 
 of the cnrje, broii^t upon us by our fall from God :" 
 Soch mifcries they often are, as make the fufferers 
 even weary of their life, and ready to cry out, / loathe 
 ft, 1 would not live ahisays : The burdens which they 
 ftrffcr rn their bodies make thenn wifh for death : They 
 hngfor it, when it "eometh not ,■ and they dig for it 
 mofe than for hid treafures. But now, the death of 
 our bodies ptits a period unto thofe miferable fuffer- 
 ings. Tis true, we do not fc wifeJy and juftly as 
 we ought to da, when we fpeak reproachfully of ouf 
 Mies, as if they were meer prifons to our fouls : 
 They are the temples of the Holy Spirit, and may 
 daim a good nfage with us. Thefe ternples are morff 
 vahiable thmgs than fo Tranj prifons : And they who 
 repair them under decays^ dcferve to be phyficians of 
 fome value with n's. Neverrhclefs our bodies labeui' 
 under fuch confinements, and are confined by fo many 
 and grievous necejilies,2is may much abate the dread 
 of the chambers, wherein we fhall be releafed from 
 them all* In thek chambers^ tht poor fwe no worfe 
 than the rich. All care for our bodies is over, whea, 
 they fleet in the duft. The diftempers of our bodies,. 
 which do chaften them with pain upon their beds 3 
 find the multitwie e^ their beK€s witbftreng pain ; Thefe 
 won't go with us into the chambers of the grave, 
 which they bring us doWn intd. The enemies which 
 -couM come to our bodies white aijo^« ground ; af- 
 ter they are got into the c/&s)W^^r/ of the grave, there 
 is m more that' they can do. Of thefe chambers we 
 have that agr«ea>fele account -gitem-to us ;' }dtr. iii. 
 » 7^ i *» ffi&f rp tkff wieked^ ceafe from Protiiiing j eml 
 
 there 
 
bp€ned and Vifited: § 
 
 there the weary are at refl. fhere the frijonen reji 
 together s they hear not the "Voice of the opprejfor.-^ 
 Yea, what is more confiderable than all of this ; the 
 leprofy of/?», got ii«o the walls of the clay-tabernacle 
 (even like that ixnimdlculated plague on the walliS! 
 of fome old Jewijh buildings ;) this will be got out; 
 by death taking down the walls of the tabernacle, 
 ■ The chavibers of the grave. Will have fuch an pper- 
 Stion on our bodies, as to fetch but the feeds of fd 
 in them. O wretched ones that vi^e are ! Our body 
 bf death; we cannot be delivered from it, but hf 
 the death qf our body, jElias was a fnan that had his' 
 pajjtons : But he dropt all thofe pajftms when he dropt 
 his mehta ; thofe humbling things are ^\'hat God will 
 have to be buried in the grave of his childreii. — ' 
 But ftill, the chambers of the grave, have this to ren^ 
 der thtrti uncornf or table • the chambers have no pofi- 
 tive comforts in them. The comforts which once 
 i-efrcfh'd our bodies, are all taken aWay by our laft 
 enemy, when We ace held among his captives, in thefe 
 cjfverns of the earth. Wherefore there is this to be 
 jidded, for Ouil' fupport aind relief in Chefe loHcfome 
 tmmbeirs, 
 
 , Secondly; 4n this reft, we have an hope, tha:t our 
 bodies will be with much advantage anon fetch'd out, 
 of the chambers. Our 'bodies will not always remain . 
 in the chambers of the defolate places, which are built 
 for uS, in the land of worms and moles and pifmires; 
 A Sa!vi6ur, and a griat one, who by his own rifing 
 froM the dead, Sufficiently invites us to, rely upon his 
 word ; he has,given his wofd for it ; Joh. v. 'i?,. The 
 ■hour is coming, in the which, dllthat are in the graved 
 fljall hear his voice • andfh'all come forth. , We have 
 in our -bodies, a fecret, unffien; Original principle, 
 ■which gives form unto them; ,. T\\\s principle as it is 
 ©riginSHy, and perhaps immediately, created by God; 
 ta whaiEever changes come upon our, ^orf/fi/ this nev^'r 
 
 B li^ 
 
lO ,tl^e Chamlers of GOSy 
 
 is loft in the ruins. When God fhall fet this principU 
 to work again, our bodies will return to fo much of 
 their/omifr figu-re, as may be fit for the children of 
 the refurreSiion. Our Lord Redeemer will do thi« 
 •wonderful thing. We look for his defcent from the 
 Heavens for this purpofe ; Phil. iii. 21. fo change 
 our vile body, that it may be fajhioned like unto his 
 glorious body } according to the working whereby he is 
 able even to fubdue all things unto him/elf. But, oh ! 
 what wondrous bodies, how wondroully mended, wjU 
 our bodies be, when they come forth out of their 
 chambers ! How free from all infirmities ! How free 
 from a\{ deformities ! How full of cseleftial_y^/(?«ior / 
 Of what amazing agility in their motions ! What 
 \\\\i^no\x% habitations of God ! They vent into the 
 chambers, how forlorn, how ghaflly, how putrefac- 
 tive! They come out of the chambers , what w^to 
 creatures ! Yea, equal to the Angels ! (Our Saviour 
 ufing tliis expreflion of the raifcd, feems to imply, 
 that the angels alfo have thtlr bodies. '\ The raifed 
 faints v/Wl be allbciates to the morning JiarSy to the 
 fons of God I 
 
 Thirdly. Ovr fpirits lodged in the chambers of 
 faradife ; Oh ! how great is the goodtitfs which they 
 will find, that God has there laid up for them that 
 fear him. Concerning one taken into paradife, we 
 are told, Luk. xvi. 25. He is comforted. Oh 1 The 
 inexpreffible confolations of thofe chambers, where 
 OMT fpirits vi'iW he fatisfied as with marrow and with- 
 fatnefs, in the night watcheSyHt the table of our God I 
 Great God ! Thy confolations cannot beff^all. Our Dr. 
 Goodwin when he lay a dying, fo exprefs'd that mat- 
 ter ; lam going to the three Perfons in the glorious God, 
 with wbo7n I have had communion. I Jhall be changed 
 in the twinkling of an eye. All my corruptions I fhall 
 be rid of, which here I could not be. Thofe croaking 
 feads will fall off in a moment. The firft and the 
 
 leaft 
 
Opened and Vifited. ' i* 
 
 leaft thing to be affirmed concerning tht chamhers 
 oi parddife^ is ; that Qurfpirits will there be delivered 
 from the hand of all our enemies^ andfrorH the hand of 
 fin. Oarfpirits in thofe chambers wiiW enjoy a fweet 
 quiet repafe, Onr fouls v/Wl dwell at eafe, while our 
 heirs are dividing' amm^T themfelves the earth, which 
 we leave unto them. We leave all our forrows, all our 
 troubles below, when we go up to thofe chambers of 
 God. And very particularly, what is mod of all 
 Jorrowful and moll of all trouilefomeunto us, outfn : 
 That (hall never infeft us any more. Thofe lujisy 
 which are worfe than the frogs of Egypt, will never 
 •get into thofe defirable chambers. 'The chambers are 
 holy places, and our holinefs will thdre be improved 
 unto a marvellous elevation : The thing which we 
 long'd for, which we groan'd for, which has been 
 more valuable than all this world unto us, or than 
 a thoufand fuch worlds. The ordinances, and the 
 aijliiiions, which are employ'd upon us, in this pre- 
 fent time, are a furnace, whereof we may fay, our 
 iniquity is purged here, and the fruit is to take away 
 turftn. But ahefe are a dull and a '^o^^ furnace ,- the 
 near approach to God, ^\\\z\\o\x fpirits make, when 
 our blood ceafes to be any longer an element for them, 
 will be a quick, ftr&ng, fiery /or^A that will foon run 
 our drofs, and clcanfe owcfpirits from all their fin- 
 ful pollutioijs ; and we (hall be p'refeniedfauttlefs be- 
 fore God, with exceeding joy. The notes to be fung 
 by thofe Birds of Paradife, are thofe, Pfal. cxxiv, 7. 
 Our foul is efcapcd as q.bird out. of the fnare of the 
 fowler- 
 
 W6 rnay go on to fay ; 'Tis indeed a IReft, which 
 the fpirits that once were affiiSied and toffed with 
 tempers, are now arrived unro. And yet the chief 
 fweet of the refl, is, that it is 'without rejl. It is a 
 ■reji frorrt ir%fome and -vfxing things ; Not a reft .'rom 
 Jthtjoyfnlpraifes of God. The fpirits that j/?«p- ahud 
 Upon their beds, will have high praifes of GOD with 
 
 them. 
 
J 3 "rhe Gbambers xff GO^, 
 
 them. It will be with them according to th«ti 
 Rev. iv. 8. 'They reft not day and night, faying, holy^ 
 holy, holy. Lord God Almighty. There are none idle in 
 thofe chambers. The Spirits of thepi who fleep in 
 Jcfus, are. not luU'd into a fleep of utter inaliivity 
 and injenfihility there. How the difengaged yj&mVj 
 of good men exert their operations, who can tell : Thi? 
 we know, our Apoftle Paul, was ahnong them caught 
 up to Paradife j and he allows, that it jnight be without 
 his body, yet he reports, he ]oeard unjpeakable words. 
 It is plain then, the/pirits in the chambers above, dp 
 hear ; and therefore they /peak ,• and therefore they 
 do other things. What, and -how, I muft fay as our 
 apoflle doe's, I cannot tell, God hioivs. But J ftlrongly 
 incline to think, that our God has annexed ynto our 
 Jpirit a fine fort of matter, of admirable qualities 
 and faculties, to be a vehicle, and as I may fay, a fort 
 of ^/>^fi&/Kd!/?^ unto it, and the /«y?rK»;f«^ by which it 
 perceives, and performs milch of what it isconcefn'd 
 withal. And as the feat of it is in our head, from 
 whence the whdle body is by its influences kept it) 
 motion, and kept from rottennejs ; thus the/pirit car- 
 Ties this matter away with it, at its departure, when 
 1*t can't continue comfortably in the body any longer, 
 iut whatyowfj in the night, will G^d our maker givtt 
 unto us ! , - ■ 
 
 Yea ; Finally, 'Tis to be expe<9:ed, that in the 
 blifsful chambers, there is a vifton of a glorious Chrift, 
 whereof our Jpirit s will be made partakers. The 
 fweeteft thingin/)flr<Zi^j/^ .' A w^ok, that will bring 
 with it, the moft grateful knowledge that a foul can 
 feed upon ; the moft raifed gbodnejs that a foul can 
 foar unto -, the moft unutterable fatisfadlions ! Thus 
 we are taught, 2 Cor. v. 8. We ftiall be pre/eM 
 -izith the Lord, when abfent from the body. Oh ! 
 what vifits does our Saviour make unto the fpirits 
 "which he has taken into his chambers, arrd under hi« 
 (^uftody I Thefe chambers are the everlaftiug bdbitationtf 
 
 which 
 
opened and Vifitii. ij 
 
 'w\\\.c\i when v/^/aili we fhall be receh'd into. At 
 our death it is, that we fail. We are then turned 
 out of ixeu/e and homey for our de^t unto the juftice of 
 God. At the laji day we fliall he/et up again. - But 
 before that even when we dye, we are immediately 
 received into everlafiing habit at torn ^ We may be fure, 
 they are glorious habitations, and houfes full of goad 
 things. The peculiar prefencd qfour Saiiiour ^sasx&t 
 will tnake them fo. ' 
 
 APPLICATION. 
 
 I. Mow patient fhould we be, when God calls 
 our friends, into the chambers, which he hfts ap- 
 pointed fof thern ! With what /)flif«V«^f ought we ttj 
 exprefs 2ifqcxificing difpolition ? Very powerful con- 
 fideratipns have ,we to ftop the flqftdd of our tears, 
 when our friends are call'd away to the (r/&fl»zi^d'rj of 
 their long home, Jind we rqiuft tjualk as mourners about 
 the Streets. Did we only confider o\xx friends as gone 
 down into the chambers of the grave, upon the order 
 of a God, who has appointed Unio wen once to. die, we 
 have this to filence our murmurings, 'tis tjie God of 
 tur Ufe, who has ordered it. O Lord, I am dumb, 
 I do not open niy moath^ becaufe thou, hafl ddne it I 
 Even thefe are chambers of protediqn too ; and whfen 
 they are put here to bed^ perhaps betimes, who can 
 tell, what evil they may be taken frofn ; what evil to-, 
 coine ! Nor is this all. For we are advifed ; J Thef. 
 iv. 13, 14, 18. Sorrow not as others that have 7id hope i - 
 ^em that Jleep in Jefus will God baring with him. 
 ■Gomfort one another, with thefe words. Biu we may 
 not itop here. We may confider onr friends are gotie 
 .up into the chambers, oi paradife. And oh ! : ilvhat is 
 done for them there ? To be there, is as One that 
 has b€?n there, has written of it ; Phil. iii. 23. 'Tis 
 to be wiib Chrijl, which is. far better than to live in thef. 
 jiejb, Tho' they hav'g nu yet all th* good, which thfey 
 ;■" • * Jhall 
 
X4- ^e Chambers of GOJ>, 
 
 fiall have ; yet. Oh ! 'Tis/ar belter with them, than 
 it was in this roaring wildeme/s ; a land of droughts 
 and pits, and fiery Jlyingferpents : And fo well with 
 them, that they call from their pleafant chambers unto 
 us ; As well as we loveyau, we wou'd not for all your 
 world return unto you ! So Luther, when his daughter 
 lay a dying, read unto her fome claufes in the XXVI. 
 Chapter oi Ifaiah ; and concluded. My daughter, enter 
 thou into thy chamber with pe^ce f it will net be hng 
 before I am with thee, 
 
 II. How willing ought we to be, that oyr Lord 
 fend for us, how, and when hepleafes ; ho^ willing- 
 ly ought we to go unto the chambers appointed for us ? 
 On our going down to the chambers oii\\t grave ; how 
 many meditations may we entertain, that may recon- 
 cile us to it ! The mifchiefs from which we (hall 
 efcape, in thofe chambers , — The months of vanity, to 
 beefcaped, might make us, even defire to be there, 
 as zfervant earneftly defires the fiadow. Our pilgrim-. 
 age lies thro* fuch a world, that we may have caufe 
 enough to fay with him; Job. xiv. 13. Oh ! That 
 thou wouldefi hide me in the grave ! But then, the 
 refurreliion of old, was called, the confolation. As 
 God faid unto Jacob of old ; Fear not to go down inta 
 Egypt ; I will go down with thee ; and 1 will furely 
 bring thee up again : So does our Saviour fay to us j 
 Be not afraid of going dozvn into the grave : I have been 
 there before thee ,- and Iwill furely bring thie up again. 
 But then on our going up to the chambers oiparadife, 
 what meditations may we be even tranfported withal ! 
 Our thoughts on what our Saviour will do for us, in 
 thefe chambers of the Saints in light ; v/hzt flames may 
 they fill our fouls withal ! What wings may they give 
 unto our fouls ! Methinks, thefe thoughts may bring 
 us to thofe frames ; Pfal. xlii. 2. Myfoulthirftethfor 
 God s when Jhall I come, and appear before God I A 
 dying Stephen cries out; Lordjefus, receive my f pint. 
 
 But 
 
,Opened and Vifiied. if 
 
 But unto what?' A Paul, [who, alas, heafd thofd 
 words 1] inftrudted by Stephens Lord, has afterwards 
 told us ; Chriji receives us to the glory of God. Oh i 
 The glory ! Cto ! The glory we fhall be received unto I 
 And, ah ! why fo lothe to go unto it ! Surely, Bleffed 
 is the man whom the Lord caujes to approach thus near 
 unto Hirn^ as to dwell in his courts. 
 
 III. TrtE main thing whereto we are to be exhon-' 
 ed, is ; to get into fuch a condition oifafetyfor eter^ 
 nity, that we may with pleafure hear the call; Come^ 
 my people, enter into thy chambers. 
 
 And, now, what is to be done, that we m?,y get 
 into this happy condition ? 
 
 First, You obferve.that they are the /)(?o/>/(? of God, 
 who are to enter the chamber s, O make fure of this ; 
 that you are the people of God. Such a people there 
 is, who are in covenant with God ; and who live i& 
 him-. They are called, Pral. ex. 3. His willing people. 
 A peopje they are, tvilling to be what God would 
 have them to be 5 willing to do, what God would 
 have theih to do. Come to this, O my God, I alfo- 
 am willing I O make me /of And, Let the people of 
 God be my people, and let their God be my God. God 
 lays the beams of his chambers, as I may fay, in the 
 waters of fuch a fanllification Upon the foul of the 
 believer. ^ 
 
 Again ; Let our Saviour have his lodgin^g in our 
 ■chambers. There are the chambers of the foul, or the 
 feverai faculties thereof, which by knowledge are to be 
 filled with all precious and pleaf ant riches. At rhefc 
 chambers, O man, thy Saviour fays,, Rev. iii. 20. Be- 
 hold, I fiand at the door and knock. Now, open to thy 
 Saviour. Say tohim, O my Saviour, I beg of thee ta 
 ^ojfefs all the chambers of my foul I Go on, and hold 
 eommunion with thy SavioUr in the chatfibersof thy 
 
 , , boufe. 
 
iB ^he Cbamhers of G0]3i 
 
 heufe. Be able truly to fay, that He is in thfJecrH 
 ebambers there. Converfe much with thy Saviour in 
 ^efecret places which the Jiairs lead up unto. Be 
 much with him there, as a Ptyve in the clefts of the 
 rock. This will enable thee to fay to. If thou haft 
 had him with thee in thinei ht fure thou fhait be witH. 
 him in his. 
 
 - In fine, artd in fliort. We rrtuft leave nothing un- 
 flone, that may bring us and keep in good terms with 
 our Saviour. He fays. Rev. i. i8. I have the keys of 
 Hades, or, the invi/iile wcrld. , The keys of ^e cham^ 
 hers are in his glorious hand. If he be our friend,' 
 we may with extafies of joy, receive the meffage frora 
 him; Comei enter into thy chamhefs. Verily, be will 
 flDew wonders to the dead. Wonders, wonders, will be 
 done for us; in the chambers which this glorious King 
 ■will bring us to. Certainly, at a time when the Jhocksi 
 yea, and formidable flames, of the earth trembling 
 under us, do daily terrify us, the chambers cffafet^jf 
 are what wc may be feafonably minded of. 
 
 f But that which more ihimediately led me intc^ 
 thcfe contemplations, has been the hand of our glo-; 
 rious Lord, which has newly fetched 
 [Mr. Peter away an aged, pious; painful; and ufeful 
 Thatcher.] Miniftef of his everlajting Gofpel, up into' 
 the chambers which had been prepared 
 for him, and which he had long been preparing for. 
 
 We cannot but look up aft^r fuch an one, with the 
 acclam^on of. My Father, my Father. Yea, O New- 
 England, in the withdraw (rf" fuch an One, one that 
 ■was not the leaft valuable afnong the Chariots and 
 Horfemen of our Ifrael, has withdrawn from thee. 
 
 He was born at Salem in 1651. He was a devoirf 
 pious child ; and as a prognoftick'of his future ufc- 
 JUInefsj in his early days he met with a -great mA 
 
 fignal 
 
opened and Vifdedt ' I7 
 
 ifignal deliverance : For, falling down before tRe opeti 
 flood-gate pf a water-mill a going, he was drawn 
 into the fluice and carried thro' between the pads of 
 the wheel without being hurt. 
 
 This valuable fervant of God is moft cfertainljr 
 one of thofe, who conr^e within the reach of that 
 ftatute ; Heb. xiii; 7. Remember them that have 
 fpoken to you the word of God, whofe faith follow, con~ 
 jidering the end of their coni)erfation: And if any man 
 may confefs an obligation to dq the duty of this 
 commemoration, furely it becomes me to do it, for one 
 who was my tutor at the College, and who therefore 
 may claim the regards due to ^father from me. For^ 
 I muft not forget his being my tutor, more than as 
 many years ago as there are w^-f/^j in a yean 
 
 : He was then thoifght worthy to be a Fellow of 
 Harvard-College, and an owner of the learning where- 
 in we were inftrudled there. . But what I remember 
 with a moft abiding impreflion, is^ that befides his 
 methods to recommend unto his pupils that early 
 PIETY, whereof he had been himfelf a notable pat~. 
 tern, we admired his prayers in the College-Hall, fof 
 the fluent, copious, "expreflive, beauties of them, and 
 •the Heavenly entiries we perceived in. them. ■ 
 
 To render himfelf yet more polifhed for this work 
 of the fanduary^ * to which his excellent Father the 
 memorable Paftor of the fouth church in Bojion, had 
 iaetimes devoted him ; while he was yet ,a young 
 man, he took a voyage to Europe ; and had the ho-i. 
 hour and pleafure of fome acquaintance with feveral 
 eminent perfons in hondon, who were men of re- 
 nown in the congregations of the Lord; but efpeci-j 
 ally the venerable Mattheix>< Barker, of whom he would 
 Ipeak with veneration to his dying day. Of that gra- 
 cious man, he would remqmber many things ; buc 
 simong them all, I ftiall never forget' one fpeech of 
 
 G his J 
 
r8 ^he ChamSers of GODi 
 
 his ; laffioftintiinesread^io charge it Upeti fanie d^-> 
 feB and failing in. my Jdfi ■mhin I fee true gbdtinefi 
 thrive no viore under my rfiinifiry. 
 
 After his return to his native country, the prc- 
 qious flock at Milton obtained this giftoi our ifcend^ 
 ed Saviour; and he was ordained, as unto the work 
 of the evangelical miniftry, fo unto the pajiordl 
 charge of that particular church irt the year r68i ; 
 And thert he continued yi&ifW/Hg- all good fidelity, for 
 forty and fa years, which he fpent in bhllding the 
 temple of his <}od. In all which time thty were fo 
 far from being Weary of bite drfothef; that their mu- 
 tual endearments were ncvef firongcr arid more lively^ 
 than at the time when his death tranflated him to th^ 
 upper chambers. 
 
 Before I go any furthel", 1 cjtrinot bat O^n ; 
 *Tis to be wim'd, that in our cotMnemoratian ofokit 
 dead friends, a due caution fhould be ufed, that they bfc 
 true reprefentatiBrt^; and fuch as may not ptovtfumb-^ 
 ling-blocks unto the living : That men who defervft 
 rather to lie buHed in oblii'ion, among mifchieifott's 
 perfonsy and had little that was great in them exi 
 cept their bafenefs, be not reprefented as gredt the it 
 fallen in Jfrael : And that men who defcrve to bfe 
 reputably mentioned for good things, found in them, 
 yea, for maiiy things that were laudable, irhdy riot be 
 hle^ed 'with too laiid a tjoice, and ftt miich ib'ove ■vthat 
 they really were. The point's of merit lliollld be tru- 
 ly, fairly, juftly kept u^tb. TreJpkjU'es upoh veracity 
 in giving of character's, may be of ill cdnfequence; 
 dnd expofe the prodigal encomiaft unto as much de- 
 rifioh as '^ero got by his panegyric upon x}cic prndenci 
 of his predeceffOr ■Claudius ; arid utterly fmk the 
 credit of good cbdraEiers amb'rig our people, who often 
 fee to the bottom of the oratioris made by thoft wh6 
 have unworthy perfa^ns in UdMratio'h. 
 
 I 
 
.Qpejied and Vijitsd. .19 
 
 " ; ;I am certain, tji^t I {hall keep this cation i;ivio- 
 ■ ■ late, in whatj have .to. o^er, in ni,y; brief eflay upon 
 the memory, of that godd man, for whom all men 
 -had a reverence as for, a pod man -, and v^'ho had 
 fucha teftjimony in .the confci^oce of all the people, 
 ^ that,. .whatever he did or.fpoke^at ajay time, every one 
 .made. this conftrui^lon of h,,the -good man had a very 
 ^goad int&ntion in it. The,.wh,oIe cogntry.^vvith much 
 unanimity teftify, that he was a faithful man, and one 
 that feared God above many. The common denomi- 
 nation for hm was, an Ifraelite indeed I 
 
 His piety, which wherever it {hines is the principal 
 
 thing, and will entitle a man to the .firname of our 
 
 • Gildas, who was called. Sapiens. This was in this 
 
 ,, ^an of God, the principal thing. And indeed the 
 
 •' brighteft of fcholars Without this, do but render 
 
 themfelves obnoxious to the fatyr anc^ cenfures which 
 
 the- learned Cunaus wrote, in Eruditos Infipientes. 
 
 •It breathed, as in an holy %eal, boiling ag^-ilnft 
 whatever appeared a^« unto him, fo in his inceffant 
 Jupplications, wherein he emplpy'd a proportion of 
 time that is not ufual among the children of men. 
 
 ■ In the religion of the clofet he was much with 
 Ood ; and was very much in the fentiments of the 
 pious Tapper, who from long experience obferved, 
 that where devotion was drop'd in the clofet, it feldom 
 keeps poff'§ffion long in the heart or the life. Vi'is family- ^ 
 facrJfices were very exemplary. Happy the children, 
 happy the fervants, that were under- fuch a religious 
 education. All that fojourned with him found his 
 houfe a Bethel f And how much he encouraged 
 Prayer, among his people, often meeting with them 
 on the times when they met for Prayer, will not be 
 (qga forgotten. 
 
20 The Chambers of GOD, 
 
 But it breathed alfo in favour/ conferences ; whcre«- 
 in a communication of Good far the ufe of edifying, was 
 always expecfled from him. His Difconxfes with his 
 people M ere ferious, and fuch as plainly difcovexed 
 an awe of a God hearkening and hearing, and a con- 
 cern that fuch as come near him, Itill might go awajr 
 the wifer and the better for him ; nor will it be foon 
 forgotten, how they felt their heat Is burn within theip. 
 \\ hen he was talking with them. 
 
 Next unto this piety, and indeed as a noble lign, 
 and proper proof of it, was the indujiry with which 
 he difcharged the duties of his nijniftry. O^ 
 the Lord's- days he fed the flock with twofermons. 
 The Manna was rained no lefs than twice in every 
 Sabbath. He many years kept up a monthly leSlure. 
 He catechized as an Angel of the little ones. He 
 ^legleded not the pajloral vifits. In the vifits of pure 
 and undefiled religion, he was a moft frequent and 
 "Welcome comforter of the mourners. He often 
 gave his prefence 3t the private meetings of his neigh- 
 bours, who met in courfe at one anothers hpufes for 
 agrcable devotions. Among thefe he took a fpecial 
 cot^nizance of, and had a fpecial affedlion to, the fd-~ 
 cieties of his dear young men, and always manifefted 
 a very great joy to fee his children -walking in the 
 truth ; and as great a care that they might none jof 
 them decline from good beginnings. He would 
 fomctimes go to them, and preach to them, as well 
 as pray with them ; and one of the fermons which 
 he beftow'd upon them, they w ere at the expencc 
 of publifhing, that they might enjoy it as their per^ 
 fetual monitor. It is entitled, the Perpetual Co- 
 venant. He was often employ 'd alfo, in the fcr- 
 vice of other churches ,- on the days of prayer ,• 
 and in councils upon occafions. But, as if here had 
 not been "enough, he for divers years together 
 ipent more than a little time, in the fervice of the 
 
 chrijliaip. 
 
opened and Fijit&d. at 
 
 eJjri0iifn Indians, in a village not far from him ; to 
 whom he preached a monthly lecture, and furni(hed 
 himfelf with fltill. in their Sefquipedalian language, 
 that he might be able to do it. 
 
 Yea, befides all this, 'tis incredible, how much 
 time he fpehtin helping of the fick, which from very 
 many parts, far and near applied unto him. Indeed, 
 in .fome reformed churches, they do not adrrTit a 
 minitler of the gofpel to praiflice as a fhyftcian. 
 But as the art of healing was firft brought into a 
 good condition, by men that had the care of fouls, 
 thus we have had />a/?(5rj- in our churches, who have 
 fometimes been marvellous and .complicate blejjingi 
 unto their people, by being healers as well as teach~- 
 ers unto them, and have done very kind things in 
 faving the lives of thofe, whom they Were direift- 
 ing and exhorting to li\;e unto God. Our Thatcher 
 was, like his father before him, one, of thofc ; but 
 he fo ordered the matter, that he did not interrupt 
 or incommode the work of the ininiflry, which his 
 hand was filled withal. In the profecution of thi 
 noble charity, it is incredible, how much he expend l 
 ed in medicines, it may be fome /cores of pounds, am, 
 a great part of his yearly falary, which he 'freely 
 bellowed upon the invalids among his people ; and 
 ■laid up a fund for his hopefuil ofRspring. And by 
 Jkill in medicine he appeared the more qualifyed for 
 entertaining the general afemhly of the province wheri 
 he was called forth to preach at the Anniverfary Ele(~ 
 tisn of Counfellours, with a fermon on,' the glorious 
 
 LjR.r> THE HEALER OF HIS PEOPLE ; which is alfo 
 
 publilhed. 
 
 ■i 
 
 His charadler will be left very much unfinifhed, 
 if we do not remember, how much unto godlinefs he 
 added brotherly kindnefs and charity. Tho' he let 
 people fee, that. he djd not want for fpirit, yet he was 
 
 to 
 
sa» ^be X3mtAhets >^ GOD, 
 
 tto an unciMrimon degree, courteous, candid, read^ 
 I to do good offices. If any did but fhew him an op- 
 i-poTtanicy to Jo. gaad, there was no need of uling an 
 argument to do it : He. flew to it with a moft ready 
 alacrity. And the delight he took, irh making a par- 
 ' ticu lap mention of his/riends in his prayers, was what 
 vftU under every bodies obfervation. 
 
 i He had anhumlity that gave a luftre ta his other 
 "vertues. A mle per/on reproached the ^reformation, 
 tihatnoi treeti/es of humility were produced in it. If 
 ^ what that peft and poifoner fays, has been /raf, 
 ((which.it is not,) I hope, there have been produced 
 iraany-ififiaaees of humility. I am now fhowing one, 
 V of ■^hmerjjHmility. I might fay, what the orator com- 
 iplements his Trajan withal, who always walking an 
 .ybo/, procured its being faid unto him, TV W Sydera 
 \tdtit Humere. ■ It raifed him to the flcies in the efteem 
 •of the people. 
 
 The efFeft of this .was, that he, was Zi.. man greatly 
 
 .beloved. His ownjiock efpecially, which under his 
 Tniniftry iwere continually improving in goodnef?,^ 
 and ripening for Heaven, loved him to a degree 
 which. is rarely equalled, and fcarce ever, exceeded. 
 
 'Seldom totbe feen is a man that has fewer enemies I. 
 
 .The wickedejl o^ j«<f« addrefs'd him ,with asknpwledg-* 
 
 '\meltts. 
 
 \ He continued,- even in his old. age, to bring for^h 
 ^ much of. that fruit, whereby Gov> -wzs glorified : Hi» 
 .■£«'/y!not at all abated, and his -indujlry very, little;' 
 The brave motto, Senefcit, non Segnefctt, very confpi- 
 cuoufly belonging to him. It was the remark of 
 ..angtA A^in,Ckm tihi homines optamt .Senellutem, quid 
 u^iliud'ofiantj.quam longam infirm it atem. To wifli for 
 : old. age,- is to wilh for an heap of ijfirmities. Qjjr 
 iSLgedTb^tcbekh^dMi of thefc, tlxauthe ipoft aid men 
 complain of. 
 
C^fe^ and' tnjittL J^ 
 
 On%- would wonder, hdw one of fiiflh' /a^rj^ and 
 <Jf fuch travels could get along fo well ashedjdi.unCQ 
 t!\€ fe'Oeitty Jevenih year of his age. But indfiad- fomC 
 of his Mmrs, 1 mean thofe of hisr/TiSifij/^fi. might un>- 
 der God, contribute unto it. For they fcepfi him 
 very much in they>a/ of health ; and at the exercife, 
 ftilan which the medicina ^ymnalika; msiet- ptdxinhtA. 
 3t bettef . Thus, our ancient Petet hel<S out fo well, 
 th^ even when be "Sdas dd, he could gtpd kimjelft and 
 go- almoft "WSither he would. 
 
 However, ©nthe tenth of this month, he preached 
 both parts of the day, felt more hearty than ocdinarjr, 
 and performed the domejiick faerifiees^ with the repe,- 
 tition of the fermons, in the evening. Upon which 
 finding himfelf weary, he faid, IVe read in a certain 
 place t the prteyers of David are ended : what if it JhouH 
 now he faidy the /prayers ofVttttare ended! It fell 
 but accordingly. On the day following a fever feized 
 him. And the next fabhdth ended with him, in his 
 iverlufting reJI. 
 
 In the time of his illnefs he (ixprefs'd a moft lovely 
 acquiefcence in the will of his heavenly Father, and a 
 foul rejoicing in th'6 hope (f the glofy ofGodi ' , 
 
 Recovering out of a fhort Cloud, upon the clear 
 "ufe ef his-reafon, he call'd for his domefticks, and 
 for iLpaffto lean upon : So, fitting up, he hle£'e4 each 
 of them, and made a moft pathetic and audible prayer 
 with them and for them. And then lying down, his 
 laft words were the words of a conqueror and more 
 than a conqueror,- I am going to CHRIST in glory. 
 Thus his purified fpirit flew away to the chambers, of 
 a Redeemer waiting to be gracious. 
 
 It was a very charming ftroke, in the Epitaph of 
 
 the defirable ThankfufOwen ; Eadem qua vixerat equa^ 
 pimitate,abfque ullo,pr<eterqudm cordis adCHRISTUM 
 ti^pirio, animam expiravit. ' He died in the calm with 
 
 which 
 
2^ ^e Chafnb'ers of GOT3i 
 
 *vhich he Uved, and expired with no groans, but tho/d 
 of one longing to be with him, with whom to be, is 
 lyfar the beft of all. I cannot give a better account 
 of my Thatcher' & expiration ; and of the peace in his 
 latter end. 
 
 What remains is, that we glorif/ the Redeemer, 
 our Jehovah-Jesus, as the author of all the good 
 found in, or done by, this good and faithful ferv ant ; 
 and look up to him for fuch graces, yea, the greateft 
 ineafures of them^ to be granted unto the furvivors ! 
 But, I call to mind the words of a lear'ned man, (De 
 la CerdaJ me increpo quoties excedo in aliquo. And I 
 ■would not exceed in the length of my difcourfe on 
 this occafiori. 
 
 The Epitaph whicTi I find in the '^ibliothecd of 
 Sixtus Senenfis on the blefled Cyprian, made, as 
 he fays, by a Priejlantijjinius Theologus, we will 
 here accommodate unto our THATCHER, ana 
 fo take our leave. 
 
 Sacrarumfi quid rerum te forte latebat 
 In libra vita nunc bone PET RE legis. 
 
 What was c6nceal'd frofti thee, O Saint beloW^/ 
 Thou doft above in more perfeftion know. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 iaaaaj;M»BWig 'mnxr/sam 
 
ADDENDA 
 
 FROM, THE 
 
 tFEEKLT JOURNAL, No, XL; 
 MILTON, December 23. 1727. 
 
 A, 
 
 .BOUT midnigtit after the laft Lord's Day deceafed here 
 the Rev. Pete^ Thatcher M. A. the ift fettled minifter of this 
 fchiirch and town, in the 4/th year of his paftorate, and 
 77th of his age. He Was a.fonof the Rev. Mr. Thomas 
 Thatcher the ift paftor of the io\ii\i chatch' m Bojion. His 
 mother was danighter to the Rev. Mr. Ralph Patridge of Dux- 
 bury. He was born at Saleni'xn 1651. Was a .pious, prayer- 
 ful yoiith, and in his early days he rriet with a very greit de- 
 liverance : Falling down before the open flood gate of it 
 water-mill a going; he was draWn intd the fluice and carriecl 
 thro' between the pads of the. wheel, without being hurr. 
 He took his ift degree at Camir«fl5j«'in 1671. ind we fuppoC^ 
 his 2d in 1674. being in the _fame claffis with the prefent 
 nondurable Judge Sewa/l. After which he was chofen and 
 tor fome years ferved as a fellow and tutor at the College. 
 
 While there he cofttraflted an intimate and diftinguifli- 
 Ing friendftiip with Mr. Samuel Danfarth^ (Ton to the late de- 
 puty governour) who was both his clafirhate dnd fellow tutor. 
 Upon Mr. DanforMs going to England., Mr. Thatcher quickly 
 follow'd him : and on the death pf this his dear friend, he 
 returned-to his native country. But while there, was much 
 ipllicited to conformity, and had great offers made him to in- 
 duce him to it : But he had Weighed (he coittrdvetfy and re- 
 fufed the alluring profpe£t. 
 
 Soon after he returned he married Mrs. Theodore., daugh- 
 ter to the I^ev. Mr.,%^ Oxertiridge paftor of the ift church 
 \n Bajlin, by whom he had pchildrenj only 3 furviving him.' 
 His 2<i wife was the vertuoua relic?; of the Rev.Mr.ytfte Bailyi 
 minifter of the fame church : By her he had only i fon, 
 that died in infancy. About 3 months ago he was mirried' 
 ^Q Mrs. EUzibeth the worthy relift' of Mr. JoJhtid'Gei of 
 Mo/ori. ' 
 
 D lii 
 
ib6 a D D E N D j1. 
 
 He was ordained our paftor in Sept. i68r. and has con- 
 tinued a rich bleffiog and greatly beJoved and efteem'd among 
 us both as a paflor, neighbour and phyfician, a tender, cordial, 
 kind and faithful friend both to our fouls and bodies. |^e 
 has been to Ks the joy of our heaits and the crjwn of our 
 beads ; and he would often fpeak of us as^the beloved of his 
 faul| his joy ifc. 
 
 As for his efnra^er. — He was a perfon of cnjinent fanc- 
 >tity, of a mod courteous and complaifant behaviour ; chearr 
 ful, affable, humble and free of fpeech to the meaneft he met 
 with. He had a great de^J of vivacity in his natural genius ; 
 which being tempered with grace and wifdom, appeared very 
 engagirig both in his common converfe and publick peiforr 
 mances. In his ordinary converfation there was a vein of 
 piety, agreably mingl'd with entertaining turns and paiTages, 
 an air of freedom and chearfulttefs, that made it very eafy 
 and pleafant In every company-. He was a very £vange1i(:al 
 preacher, delighted in commending Chrift lo his hearers, and 
 was alwayi earneftly endeavouring to win us over to admire 
 and love him. He was a zealous aiTerter of the purity and 
 liberty of our Evangelical churches. He accounted that only 
 to be pure religion which is purely fcriptiiral : And in no 
 other form of cliurch order cou'd he fee the liberty of the 
 people prefervedas in that of this country. He wat greatly 
 concern'd for tliis noble inteieU, the chief defigg, of our ex- 
 cellent fathers hither: tho' he was full of Cacholick pity and 
 charity to ihofe of other opinions : ^nd he was much iiri- 
 prov'd in Ecclefiafiical councils. 
 
 lT,was his conflant prayer that he might not outlive hi? 
 ufefulnefs } and God was pleafed v^ry gracioufly to hear him, 
 bis vigour and intelle<flural abilities remaining frefli to the laft. 
 The Lord: Day before he died be preached both parts of th^ 
 flay : and in the afternoon from Luke 14, 22. Lard, it is done 
 as thou haft comman4ed, and yet there it room. And be was 
 never known to be more enlarged, fervent, lively, and a^ec- 
 tionate than in this his fzrewel to' his dear people. On the 
 
 monday he was feized with a fainting He was 36 hours a 
 
 dying, tho' without much pain: and his laft words were— 
 / am going to Chrift in glory. 
 

 We have here inferted from a ^ Geographical Gazetteer 
 of the Towi)s in the Commonweahh of Mafachu- 
 fetts," printed in 1785, a fhoFt account of the 
 Town of Milton ; which, though not.fo compleat 
 ^s we could wilhj yet may gratify the curiqus*. 
 
 Situation jjyjjLTQN ]^ j^f^jH ^^^^ adjoining to 
 Dwhefter, from which it is feparated in pait by Naponfet 
 liiver. It lies about 7 miles S. of Boftpn, and is bounded N. 
 jWefterly, partly on 'Naponfet River, and partly on Salt M^rftj, 
 S. of the River, S. Weflcrly on Stougl.-'n, • S. Eafteriy on 
 ft^aintree, and N. Wefterly on Dofchelier Farms fo called. 
 
 Extent.] This Town is but of fmall extent, beirig e>nly 
 two and half miles in width frcm N toS. si d not atoye 
 ^hree and half in length. Its fituaiion is very pleafant. 
 
 Hills.] From an high Hjll, oyer vrhich the road to Braii>- 
 free p^fTes, and at the diftance of about half a mile from Na- 
 ponfet Ri«fej there is a moft delightful profpe£l of the Town, 
 jFiarbour, and Iflands of Bofton, and the atfjacfent country, to 
 a great diftance. On this Hill is the feat which fprmerly 
 belongted to the late Governour Hutchin'ron. 
 
 Bridge.] At the foot of this Hill, on the N. fide, lies 
 NapAifet River, over which a ftrong Bridge is built, whidh 
 makes the entrance into tWs Village. The /ailing of the 
 water above^ the Bridg;e, and its rolling over a very rocky 
 bottom below it, ftrike^ the traveller in a very agreeable 
 manner. This River, below the Bridge, proceeds in a fer- 
 pentine cburfe tbrttugh the marfties, producing a pleafing effe£t 
 upon the :inind of a TpeQator who views it from the high 
 grounds near the Bridge ; at kngih it empties itfelf into the 
 bay and harbour of Bofton. The navigation of this River is 
 tolerably good for fnrall craft. The water, which fupplies 
 the Mills, is efteemed excellent, an'!l has afforded fupplies for 
 large iiavies. Befidcs this Hill at the enuance of the Town, 
 ' ,. there 
 
2f 
 
 tbere is another. large and exceeding high H*1I in the S. W; 
 Corner, called the Great Biue Hill, froni the blue (hade which 
 the pitch-pine fhrubsj with whi^h it is covered} caft at i 
 diffancc. 
 
 •, ■* ■ 
 Soil.] The face of the ground in this Town is very une- 
 ven, abounding with hilfs and plains,' but the (oil is in general 
 vefy g(»od, and produces bay, corn and other vegetables in 
 ^bundanie. Their nuniero^s orchards furniftt the inbabitantJ 
 l^ith large quantities of cyder. 
 
 MitLs. J Tlwre are feven milts ftpon Naponfet River, irt 
 three of which the manufacture of Paper is carried on ; a 
 thocolate^ flitting, faw andgrifl mill niakeup the reft; TKe 
 inhabitants fubM chiefly by agriculture. 
 
 The number of inhabitants in this fmall' town canndt exceed 
 i2'60fpf which 267 arc rateable polls. There are 137 dwell- 
 ing houfes. It contains but one parifh of the congregational 
 perfuafion and has few or none of any other denomination: 
 Tljp meeting-houfe is an old fafhion, wooden building* anj 
 ftande on the road leading to Stoughton ^od Bridg<lirater j about 
 lialf a mile to the right.t^ the road leading to Braintree. 
 
 . rpiis Town was taken partly from Dorchefter aa(| paftfy 
 from Briiintree, and was ftrmerly called Ur.cataquiflett. h' 
 ^as made a townlhip in th^ year 1662 and then took the 
 liame of Milton. 
 

 
 
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